By John Ikani
Determined to gain firsthand experience of what Nigerians are going through in the hands of unscrupulous officers of Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the Acting Comptroller General of the NIS, Isa Idris, on Monday, disguised as an applicant for an international passport at the service’s Lagos State Command, Ikoyi.
Recounting details of his covert visit to Premium Times, Idris alleged that some officers of the service – apparently oblivious of masked status – offered to engage in shady deals with him.
Shady dealings of the unsuspecting officers
According to him: “When I approached the officers, they offered me the menu without recognising me. They said 32 pages of the international passport for five years would cost me N45,000 instead of N27,000. They said 64 pages for five years would cost me N55,000 instead of N37,000, and N95,000 for 64 pages for 10 years instead of N72,000.
“I was asked where I was from and I said Niger State. They also asked me if I had a letter of indigeneship and other documents and I said I didn’t have anyone. So they said they would collect N3,500 to provide all the documents for me,” he said.
The immigration boss said as of the time of recounting his experience to newsmen via telephone interview, the officers were yet to know who he was, and that the Comptroller for Lagos Command of the service, Bauchi Aliyu, was surprised when he eventually showed up in his office.
“You know he just returned to Lagos from Abuja. He didn’t know that I was coming to town. So he is still shocked as I am talking to you,” he said.
Mr Idris said the lesson will help the service to strengthen the passport issuance process, saying having an international passport of a country confers nationality on its holder and so it must have integrity.
“So with what I have experienced firsthand today, it simply means that anybody can come in from anywhere and obtain our passport. This is unacceptable. So I can assure you that the Immigration Service under our watch will strengthen the issuance process and the integrity of the document,” the official said.
What’s next for officers caught?
He said the officers caught in the act during his unscheduled visit have been documented and that they would be disciplined accordingly.
“The laws are there, and so they will be made to face the law. There are about three of them but we are very sure that it is an organised crime. They are not alone but further investigations would reveal that,” he said.
The acting comptroller-general said the Interior Minister is working hard towards achieving his mandate of securing the nation’s border lines through the agencies under him, including the immigration service and that the difficulties being experienced by Nigerians in procuring passports would soon become a thing of the past.
Mr Idris said he is committed to addressing the challenge of corruption in the service.
